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Funeral Directors are a Guide in a Difficult Time

Video Posted on
03/08/2019

During a difficult and complicated time, funeral directors are there to offer guidance, support, and answers to any questions you have. They’re professionals who leverage their experience and expertise to offer you peace of mind, and help you honour the person you loved.

Video Transcipt

So Shannon you’re a funeral director?

Yes I am.

As a woman though do you find it’s unusual be in the funeral director business?

No not at all, you’d be surprised. Funeral directing is a career that woman excel at.

Why is that?

You know what I think being naturally empathetic and being able to be open with people when they come in who are grieving and need that kind of comfort I think it just-- it comes naturally for us.

So I know the funeral director is there to greet us when we walk in but there’s gotta be more to it than that what exactly does a funeral director do?

You’re right you certainly would attend a service and you’d see that there is a funeral director there, greeting people at the door, hanging coats, making sure you sign the register book. Also obviously there’s the role of when you’re making the arrangements. And then there’s all the behind the scenes work as we would call it so just like a wedding planner a funeral arranger has to make all the phone calls and co-ordinate all of the items that are going to be part of the funeral.

You’re just fully involved with every step of the process.

We are and you know what I think that’s what makes us so skilled at what we do. People come in to the funeral home and they’re reluctant, they say you know I don’t know what to do or I’ve never been to a funeral or I’m really uncomfortable here can you help me? The funeral director is there to answer questions and guide people and death is scary it is and it’s really difficult to loose someone you love and there’s no right way to and there’ no wrong way to grieve. We walk through this process with this family from the minute they walk through the door until the services are complete and they leave.

How much direct involvement do you have with the deceased, do you have to do embalming is that something that’s part of your day job?

So for me personally I have not been a part of that process for a number of years there are many funeral directors that that is exactly how they spend their entire day, is in the preparation room preparing the deceased for that viewing.

You’ve been doing this now for 25 years you said, has the business changed over that 25 years?

Absolutely, and I would say the greatest change has probably occurred in the last two to three years.

Oh wow.

The shift is really about personalization. Anything that they request you know that we can accommodate we will do for them.

Do you love what you do?

Absolutely I do. Yeah there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than you know assisting families and being there to support them. There’s been some really great connections that I’ve made with people and I know that they appreciate what we do.